The present invention relates generally to the field of communications associated with the communication of facsimile messages and associated with the uniting of traditionally distinct message delivery systems such as facsimile delivery and electronic mail delivery.
The popularity of the quick and easy facsimile delivery of messages and the popularity of low cost delivery of messages via electronic mail (also referred to as "E-mail") messaging systems have for quite some time enticed attempts to mingle the two technologies, and efforts have become even more fervent in the wake of the recent explosive increase in use of the global computer data network known as the "Internet". An early attempt to mingle facsimile and E-mail message delivery technologies is represented by the Facsimile Transmission System of U.S. Pat. No. 4,941,170 (Herbst). Herbst appears to show a system which uses an E-mail system to route a facsimile file between controllers associated with the E-mail network in order to accomplish, in the end result, a facsimile input and a facsimile output. U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,798 (Cohen, et al.) discloses a system whose stated goal is to provide a single, "unified" electronic mailbox for storing either messages or notification of the existence of messages of different types. Cohen, et al. does mention the integration of facsimile mail messages, but does not appear to clearly discuss how the system would handle such fax messages. U.S. Pat. No. 5,339,156 (Ishii) discloses a system where a data communication center and a facsimile mail center are linked in a manner to accomplish the delivery of E-mail messages by way of facsimile, but not visa versa. At the same time, the facsimile industry has seen a growth in the use of interactive communication with remote store and forward facilities ("SAFF") for storage in a "fax mailbox" in digital image form and managed delivery of facsimile messages, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,203 (Gordon, et al.); and further, the art includes the use of locally appended devices to the sending fax device to intercept commands and route facsimile messages, in facsimile form, to a remote SAFF for subsequent delivery to a destination facsimile device, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,555,100 Bloomfield, et al. Each of the above-mentioned references appears dedicated to the ultimate delivery of the message to a destination fax machine or fax capable device such as an equipped personal computer ("PC") .